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The analytics trends for 2016 that you need to know

The end of the first quarter of 2016 is fast approaching. We delved into Deloitte’s report, ‘Analytics trends 2016: The Next Evolution’, to look at the significant trends in analytics that will affect how you do your job.

From what we’ve seen, it’s not a case of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’, or that these trends are the latest fashions. We’ve all seen trends come and go, but some developments are going from buzzwords to conventional wisdom. Here are our key takeaways:

There’s a data science skills gap to step into
And now’s a good time to step into it and put that skillset front and centre. According to an MIT Sloan Management Review survey from 2015, only 74 percent of companies regarded as ‘analytics innovators’ had the analytics talent to support their strategy and goals. While that’s the US, we could assume a similar level here in the UK.

Tech companies like Cisco will likely provide the best opportunities for growth and development – and they’ll be looking at ways of keeping analytics talent in the long-term.

Science will underpin every move your company makes in the decades ahead. It’s coming out of the relative shadows to take centre stage in the business and marketing worlds. By applying the same techniques to solving some of science’s most complex problems to enterprise, data can drive insight.

Surf the Internet of People (because they’re using the Things)
Speaking of data, it is all about what analysing people are doing; it’s easy to lose sight of that when dealing with numbers and technology. Tracking activity and behaviours will become a way to form new business models.

This isn’t such a new thing – Uber have built a near-empire on placing themselves where people are, and where they go. Telematics devices on cars let drivers prove their responsibility, and reward them for good driving.

Inside the company, data will join up dots that are traditionally siloed. Does your human resources department know what your marketing and sales teams are doing? No? To move forward, they should – after all, performance can affect high-level strategy as well as retention. Data unlocks all of those areas and brings them together.

Make cybersecurity your main focus
Defence is no longer the acceptable way to protect your company’s assets – especially with the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT) and increasing prevalence of cloud storage.

Risk should be a baked-in part of your strategy for implementing any new technology; analysing previous threats will allow you to create predictive models for dealing with future threats.

With ‘known knowns’ come all manner of blind spots that could leave your company’s data vulnerable – so it’s wise to analyse your risk before jumping on the next big shiny data-related thing.